Burning Chapter 14: Infected

Hearing the usual sound of birds chirping in the early morning, I turned over with a tired groan, I slung my arm over my eyes, shielding them from the light. With the sun just barely risen over the horizon, it felt like I’d just closed my eyes the night before and suddenly it was morning.

My body felt heavy and fatigued... Likely from all of the stress from the last couple of days. On the upside, I hadn’t had any further nightmares involving that forest.

Feeling a finger poke my cheek, I twitched

“Psst... Hey, Honō... Are you awake yet?”

Yawning, I shielded my eyes with my arm. “If you need anything, just check my backpack... Everything should be there.”

“Okay, thanks,” Ty Lee chirped.

...Wait.

Sitting up, I found Ty Lee happily rifling through my bag while everyone slept soundly... Judging by Appa’s snores, a little too soundly.

There, in the center of the camp was the beginnings of a fire along with a metal kettle sitting on top, steam already beginning to pour out from the spout, releasing a sweet tea smell... One that Sokka was unconsciously inching toward.

Eh, he’d be fine. It’s not like he’d actually be able to hurt himself, what with the rocks that’d been piled around it.

With how late it’d been last night and, more specifically, how tired we’d all been, I’d offered to meet Ty Lee sometime in the morning. What I hadn’t done, however, was tell her where we were camping. She’d discovered that all by herself. I guess old habits die hard.

I was half expecting Azula to step out from behind a tree and try to drag me back to the Fire Nation... Yeah, like that’d ever happen.

“You’re finally up,” Ty Lee hummed, palming a Jennamite shard, before tossing it back into my bag. “I hope you don’t mind. I got tired of waiting, so I thought I’d help you all along.”

...You know, I really should be concerned with that, but, having been friends with her for a few years now, this was pretty tame.

“No problem.” Climbing out of my sleeping bag, I stretched my arms out to my side, relieving the stiffness of my joints.

“Great.” She grinned. “Then do you think you could help me with the–“

“FIRE!” Sokka yelled. Having managed to roll too close to it, he’d nuzzled his face directly against a hot rock.

Standing up with his sleeping bag still attached to him, he madly hopped around the camp, only to be suddenly taken out by several rapid jabs, courtesy of a startled Ty Lee.

Hitting the ground, Sokka briefly squirmed around in an attempt to stand up, before finally giving up. “Oh come on, again?”

“Sorry,” Ty Lee apologized sheepishly. “You kind of startled me there.”

“I startled you?!” Sokka squawked. “I’m the one lying face down on the ground!”

Ignoring that, I lifted Sokka off the ground, grunting as I did. He felt heavier than usual. Turning towards the others, I found Katara climbing out of her sleeping bag, looking at Ty Lee inquisitively, while Aang...

“Hey, you’re that girl from last night... Ty something,” Aang said, full of energy despite having been asleep only a handful of seconds earlier.

“Ty Lee,” I corrected, before turning towards said girl. “And this is Aang. The one Chi blocked is Sokka and that’s his sister over there, Katara.”

Waving, Katara smiled. “Hello there. It’s nice to meet you.”

“Same here,” Ty Lee chirped. “I really wasn’t expecting to run into Honō last night. Most of us thought he was dead… Well, except Azula. She was sure you were alive, but Mai seemed to think that she was just in denial… I guess she was right… Azula, that is, not Mai… For Mai to be right, you’d have to be dead. I’m really glad you’re not dead, by the way.”

Breathing deeply, she grinned up at me in a way that I’d only seen when she’d gotten up to something back in the Fire Nation.

“...All of that in one breath,” Sokka murmured softly.

Laughing softly, a bead of sweat dripped down my forehead. “I’m really happy to see you too, Ty Lee,” I hummed. Moving a little closer to the fire, I set Sokka down. “I’m sorry for...” Making you all think I was dead... “Worrying you like that.”

“I was pretty mad after I saw you last night,” Ty Lee admitted, crossing her arms. “But then I thought about it and I pretty much did the same thing when I ran away from home. Although, I’m pretty sure everyone still knows I’m alive, even if I haven’t sent a letter in a while. If I’d been forced to join the military, I probably would have faked my death too.”

That was a relief. Out of the three of them, Ty Lee was the most accepting. If it’d been Mai that found out I was still alive, she’d probably shrug and silently hold it against me until I annoyed her into talking about it.

I didn’t even want to think about what Azula would do since she hadn’t believed I’d died at all. Depending on how angry she was, she might just try and correct that little hiccup.

“That’s great,” Aang cheered. “So you abandoned the Fire Nation too. You can join us.”

Yeah, that’s not how it worked... At least, not for Nobles, which Ty Lee was. She hadn’t run away from the Fire Nation, just her family... Even then, she’d joined up with a Fire Nation circus... Or, well... As a Fire Nation performer.

“I’d love to, but I’m not sure if that’s a good idea,” Ty Lee hummed, shooting me an apologetic look. “I can’t just leave. I still have my act to consider...” Perking up as the kettle whistled, she wrapped a cloth around the handle and removed it from the fire.

That was pretty much expected. She was busy doing her own thing after all. What wasn’t expected however, was why she was here instead of back at the circus.

Sure, I’d changed a few things by befriending the three of them, but this was just such a random thing to happen.

“Do you mind if I ask you about it?” I said, stepping closer. “Your act?”

“Yeah, sure,” She beamed. “I originally joined this travelling Fire Nation circus that was pretty cool at the time. I got to do all sorts of tricks on the tightrope and even got to play around with the trapeze a little, which was really fun... But, when I saw how they were treating the animals there, I just... Couldn’t stay.”

Right... That was the same circus that would have eventually bought Appa after he’d been abducted. I couldn’t say that I was surprised that Ty Lee would leave, knowing how they trained their animals.

Looking like he wanted to say something, Aang held back in favour of listening to Ty Lee’s story.

“So I came to a compromise with the Ringmaster and left,” Ty Lee finished. “I still technically work for them, but this way, I get to travel a whole lot more. It’s been really fun... Although, there have been times where we’ve had to hide from the Earth Kingdoms military… How’ve you guys managed to get around them?”

Snorting, Sokka looked up from his spot on the ground. “Seriously? Are all Fire Nation so stu–OW! Katara, what the heck?”

“Don’t mind my brother, he’s not really used to meeting people from the Fire Nation.” Katara hummed, shooting a quick glare his way. “We haven’t had a problem with the Earth Kingdom soldiers... We don’t really run into them, since we mostly travel around on Appa.”

Ty Lee quirked her head to the side. “Appa?” Looking behind Katara, she blinked. “You’re travelling on a giant bison... A really fluffy one at that.”

“Not just any bison, a Sky bison,” Aang announced proudly.

“Aang,” Sokka hissed. “Should we really be mentioning Appa in front of you know who from you know where?”

“I don’t see why not.” Aang grinned. “I mean, she’s friends with Honō.”

“That’s beside the point.”

Sharing a quick glance with Ty Lee, she simply shrugged and proceeded to pour a cup of tea, before holding it out towards me.

“So, since I’ve told you how I got here,” She hummed. “Mind telling me what you’ve been up to since your death?”

“Not much,” I shrugged. “I crashed my old captain's ship near Kyoshi Island and ended up teaching the local military how to fight... After that, I joined up with Aang and have been travelling with them ever since... Teaching him Firebending while we travel to the North Pole.”

“Oh, he’s a Firebender.” Ty Lee let out a relieved sigh. “With all the rumours going around about the Avatar’s return and then the bison, I thought that you might have...” Trailing off, she laughed softly, holding the cup out for me to take.

...Well, she was going to find out one way or another.

“No, you were right. He is the Avatar,” I replied. As if to prove my point, Appa let off a sneeze, shooting off a blast of air, only for it to be deflected by Aang. “We’re travelling to the North Pole so he can learn Waterbending... After that, we’re going to look for an Earthbender for him.”

Reaching for the cup, my vision briefly blurred and I was hit with a sense of vertigo. Stumbling forward, I stopped directly in front of Ty Lee, accidentally spilling the tea in the process.

What the heck was that?

Blinking, as I looked into her wide eyes, Ty Lee’s face flushed pink as she looked down at my hand that was currently resting on her...

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to...”

Pulling back as if I’d been burned, I suddenly lost my balance, falling into the fire pit hands first.

“Honō!”

Feeling someone pull me back, I found myself staring up at the forest with several concerned faces staring down at me. Wincing as I pushed myself up, my body felt sluggish and unresponsive.

“Easy there,” Katara hummed. Pressing a hand against my forehead, she pulled it back, looking down at it inquisitively. “You’re as cold as ice.”

“I think I might just need to warm up by the fire...” Looking down at my hand, there was a thin black line that was just barely visible. Pushing my sleeve up, I found it grew far more pronounced, reaching all the way to the bite mark from Koh. “...Well that can’t be good.”

“What... What’s not good?” Sokka asked. “Someone turn me. I can’t see anything from over here.”

Feeling the world begin to spin around me, I struggled to stay awake as everything began to fade to black. 

...Burning...

 Marching through a thick crimson forest, Zuko scowled as he readjusting his too large Earth Kingdom robes for the umpteenth, the past few days having been a blur of hiking with brief moments of rest... And it had been an absolute waste of his time.

If he’d just ignored his uncle’s request and headed for the ocean, they would have been back on his ship by now, tracking the Avatar.

Instead, he was stuck out here in the middle of nowhere, dressed as a commoner along with the rest of his men, his uncle included. All because of some spirit he hadn’t even seen that sat between him and the ocean.

They’d been forced to take the long way around, hiking through the mountains towards a Fire Nation outpost that sat on the river. From there, they’d be able to commandeer a vessel that would bring them back to the ocean, and thus, his original ship where he could continue his hunt.

And then there was his uncle’s cover in case they ran into a group of Earth Kingdom soldiers without any weapons or armour... Because apparently, dressing up as an Earth Kingdom citizen wasn’t enough.

“It’s a long, long way, to Ba Sing Se,” Iroh sang while the rest of the men hummed a slightly off key tune. “But the girls in the city, they look so pretty.”

They were a travelling musical group fleeing from the Fire Nation... Or at least that’s what his uncle had insisted on. Zuko hadn’t really thought much about it at the time, instead, he’d been single-mindedly focused on the task at hand, but now... Now he was deeply regretting it.

“And they kiss so sweet that you’ve really got to meet.” Stopping as an arrow landed directly in front of his foot, Iroh held his hand out in front of the group. “The girls from Ba Sing Se.” Murmuring the last part, he pulled the arrow from the ground. “Hello. Is anyone there? You seem to have lost one of your arrows.”

“I think I left it right where I wanted,” A brash male voice sounded through the forest. “Now, tell me what you’re doing in my neck of the woods. If I believe you, I’ll let you pass. If not...”

Clenching his fists shut, Zuko desperately wanted to burn this forest down, but... Whoever it was out there was good at keeping their presence concealed, not to mention that they had some skill with a bow... A dangerous combination.

“We are simply a humble musical group, hoping to pass through,” Iroh answered calmly. “We mean you no harm.”

“What’s your group called?” The voice asked. “You have to have a name, right?”

“The–“ Iroh began.

“Not you... I want to hear it from the scarred one.”

Zuko narrowed his eyes. “What’s it to you?”

“Easy now, I’m just asking a simple question,” The voice hummed. “If you can’t answer it, then...”

“Then do it already,” Zuko snapped. “You think I’m afraid of you?”

He absolutely refused to play these little games. He’d had enough of that from Azula to last one lifetime.

Hearing a string draw tighter, Zuko looked around, waiting for the inevitable arrow, only to watch as someone that looked to be around his age dropped from a nearby tree.

“You’ve got guts, I’ll give you that. Name’s Jet,” He greeted them. “When I saw the scar on your face, I figured that you weren’t any friend to the Fire Nation, but I had to be sure. You know how it is.”

“Yeah... I do,” Zuko grumbled.

Jet smirked. “I’ll tell you what, to make up for it, I’ll help you. Where was it you said you were heading?”

“We were hoping to charter a boat that could take us out to the ocean,” Iroh answered.

Humming, Jet rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “A boat, huh. I might just know a place. Give me a day and I’ll get you where you need to be.”

Another day before he could continue his search for the Avatar… Fine, if that’s what it took, so be it. At least he wasn’t blindly marching through the forest, hoping to come across some Fire Nation outpost that may or may not exist.

Besides, Jet looked like a person who knew how to get things done… Even if he was an Earth Kingdom rebel.

...Burning...

Flying over a nearby mountain range, Katara briefly glanced towards Aang who was steering Appa while her brother was using one of the maps that Honō had brought with them. They were heading towards a specific location that’d been marked down as herbalist.

Whether it’d be of any help, she couldn’t say... All she knew was that it was apparently important enough for him to mark it down on a map with a question mark next to the word ‘medicine.’ Unfortunately, none of them were able to ask him what it meant as he’d long since passed out.

“I think he needs a new cloth.”

“What?” Turning towards their impromptu fifth member who sat next to Honō, hugging her knees, Katara glanced down at Honō’s shivering form. “Oh. I’ll get right on that.”

Replacing the wet rag on his head with a dry one, she pulled as much water from the old one without damaging it, before hanging it on Appa’s saddle to dry.

“You’re pretty good at that.”

“Thanks,” Katara hummed. “It’s been tough without a master to teach me, but I’ve made some real improvement over the past few weeks.”

Blinking, Ty Lee shook her head. “No, I mean... Taking care of people. I wouldn’t even know where to begin if you asked me, but it all just seems so natural to you.”

“Oh... Well I guess that’s because I’m used to it,” Katara replied. “I always had to help out with stuff like this back in the Southern Water Tribe.”

“So he’ll be okay then?” Ty Lee asked desperately. “You’ll be able to help him, right?”

Katara couldn’t say for sure. She’d helped a number of sick people back in the South Pole... Even delivering a few babies, but this was different. She’d never seen a fever quite like this before.

“Knowing Honō, I’m sure he’ll find some way to pull through,” Katara said thoughtfully. “He hasn’t failed to surprise me yet. I don’t think he’d want you to be so worried about him.”

Rubbing her face with her sleeve, Ty Lee smiled brightly. “Thanks, I’m feeling a little better. Look at me worrying so much... It totally doesn’t suit me. Azula would probably mistake me for Mai if she saw me now.”

“You know, Honō never really talks about his time in the Fire Nation,” Katara hummed. “He’s only really mentioned snippets. I didn’t even know your name until this morning. If you wouldn’t mind, could you tell me a little about it?”

Perking up, Ty Lee grinned. “Okay... But where should I begin? When we all met him... Or when we snuck into his house while he was asleep... Ooh, I could talk about the time he got lost in the Royal Palace and almost ran into the Fire Lord. Mai and I had to tackle him into a secret tunnel while Azula covered for us.”

“The Fire Lord?!” Katara yelped.

“Yep,” Ty Lee chirped. “Azula was pretty annoyed with that one. She almost got in trouble with her dad. Luckily, she managed to distract him long enough for us to sneak Honō out. Afterwards, she had him practice his Firebending with her to make up for it.”

Catching sight of Momo as he tried to sneak up on her, Ty Lee laughed as the lemur leapt up onto her head where he began tugging on her hair, before finally settling down.

“When you say Fire Lord, do you actually mean the Fire Lord, or do you have multiple Fire Lords in your nation?” Katara asked awkwardly.

Beaming as Momo grabbed her finger, Ty Lee turned back towards Katara. “Nope, just one.”

That only left her with more questions. “So, uh... What were you even doing there?” Katara murmured softly. “If you don’t mind me asking.”

“Oh, that’s easy,” Ty Lee hummed. “Azula invited us. Normally we’d hang out in the forest or somewhere around Honō’s home, but since she was working on some advanced Firebending form at the time, she decided to invite us around to see… Personally, I think she just wanted to show off to Honō…”

That shed a little more light on everything, but it didn’t really answer her question of why they were there.

“And Azula is...”

“You don’t know?” Ty Lee asked curiously. “She’s the Fire Nation’s princess.”

Say what now?!

Dropping in the seat next to her, Sokka placed the map back in Honō’s bag. “Hey, looks like we’re here. How’s he holding up?”

“What?” Blinking, Katara looked down at the fourth member of their group. “Uh, he’s pretty much the same.”

“Good.” Sokka nodded. “Let’s get ready to move him. We’ll be landing pretty s–GAH!” Landing on his side, he pushed himself up. “Or now, apparently.”

Looking back, Aang chuckled sheepishly. “Sorry, I probably could have slowed down a little more before bringing us in for a landing.”

“Oh, you think?” Sokka asked sarcastically.

Pulling herself together, Katara looked down at Honō, finding him having partially slid out of his sleeping bag, but otherwise alright.

Allowing herself a moment to look around, her eyes immediately locked onto the large, almost mansion-like building that overlooked the valley… Easily capable of housing over a dozen people. The garden looked pretty well maintained too. There must have been quite a few people here tending to it.

Hearing a door creak open, before slamming shut, the group's attention was pulled towards an elderly lady that was marching towards them with an annoyed look on her face.

Waving her over, Aang opened his mouth to talk, only to be beaten to the punch

“And just what do you think you were doing with that stunt you pulled?” The elderly lady asked sternly. “Why, you almost scared Miyuki half to death. Well… Got anything to say for yourselves?”

Aang bowed his head. “I’m sorry for frightening you, that was not my intention. I came here because one of my friends is gravely ill and needs your help.”

“What’s this?” The Herbalists gaze panned over to Sokka. “Well, there’s not much I could do for the funny looking one, but as for the one in the sleeping bag… Bring him in.”

Cackling, she made her way over to the greenhouse to the side of the mansion.

“Hey!”

Katara raised a brow. “Would you rather a woman that’s Gran Gran’s age find you attractive?”

“Point taken.”

Carrying Honō off Appa, Aang and Sokka followed the Herbalist with Katara following closely behind. Ty Lee on the other hand was already waiting by the entrance, somehow having managed to get ahead of them.

“Just set him down on that table and I’ll be right with you,” the Herbalist instructed, gesturing towards a free spot with her wooden spoon. Waiting a few moments for them to do as she said, she moved closer. “Now, let’s see what we have here.”

Patting his body down, she briefly opened his eye, before her gaze fell to the black lines that were creeping up his neck. Humming softly, she pulled his sleeve up, revealing a mess of black veins.

“He got that from a–“ Aang began.

“From a Spirit, I’d imagine,” the elderly Herbalist noted. “That complicates things… Especially with the Winter Solstice almost upon us. I could give you some herbs to help stave the illness of the flesh, however, the illness of the spirit is something he will have to overcome himself.”

“Please, is there anything else you could do?” Aang asked.

She shook her head. “No… I’ll give you some herbs to help, but that’s all I can do. Get him somewhere warm… Perhaps a hot spring. If he makes it past the Winter Solstice, he’ll be fine, if not, there’s only one thing left to do…”

“What?”

“Check his pockets for loose change.”

Clenching his fists, Aang’s tattoo’s briefly flared as the temperature of the room jumped by a few degrees. “I won’t let it come to that.”

“Then you best get a move on.” She smiled crookedly. “But before that, let me pack you a little something for the road. Your friend is going to need it if he's going to have a chance at surviving the night.”

…Burning…

Sitting in front of a small crackling fire, I rubbed my hands and kept from staring out into the void. There was a skittering sound off in the darkness, but I ignored it.

Whatever it was that was out there… Some kind of spirit… Monster or even a remnant of Koh, it didn’t seem to like the light, meaning that’s what I needed to stick around if I wanted to survive whatever the hell this was.

Unfortunately, that didn’t exactly leave me with a whole lot to do except wait and think… Both of which I’d rather not be doing right now. Was Ty Lee okay… Was she and the gang fighting… Was I even still alive?

All I could do was wait.

Freaking Koh and his stupid consequences.

“Most things, when killed, have the good nature to die!” I snapped at the void.

“But then we wouldn’t be able to have such interesting reactions,” A voice said, piercing through the darkness. “Death is but an illusion.”

Looking around cautiously, my gaze settled on a regal looking man wearing Fire Nation clothing. Walking through the dark, he paused to offer me a nod, before sitting down  in front of me.

“Avatar Roku?!”

“Hello, Honō,” He greeted calmly. “I believe that it’s time you and I had a talk.”